Question | Answer |
Evidence and arguments offered by a defendant or an attorney to show why a defendant shouldn't be held liable for a criminal charge | Defense |
Necessity, Self-Defense, Defense of Others, Defense of home and property, Resisting Unlawful Arrest, Consent | Justification Defense |
Claims that it was necessary to commit some unlawful act in order to prevent greater harm | Necessity |
The harm sought to avoid outweighs the danger of the prohibited conduct | Necessity |
No reasonable alternative | Necessity |
Ceased to engage in the prohibited conduct as soon as the danger passed | Necessity |
Did not create the danger south to avoid | Necessity |
Harm inflicted on another was necessary | Self-Defense |
Amount of defensive for must be proportional to the amount of offensive force | Self-Defense |
Unlawfulness: of the other person's act | Key point in using deadly force in self defense |
Necessity: Force must be necessary for protection from another | Key point in using deadly force in self defense |
Reasonable: only a reasonable amount of force may be used | Key point in using deadly force in self defense |
Path of Retreat | Self-Defense |
If a person being defended has the right to defend themselves, the party who went to his aid is protected | Defense of Others |
Must believe that the person they are aiding would be justified in using force to defend themselves | Defense of Others |
Must believe that the person they are aiding is unable to adequately defend themselves, and therefore their intervention is necessary | Defense of Others |
If a person being defended has the right to defend themselves, the party who went to his aid is protected | Alter Ego Rule |
Third party in Defense of Others | "...one who goes to the aid of a third person does so at his own peril" |
May use reasonable non deadly force | Defense of Home and Property |
Preservation of human life outweighs the value of property | Defense of Home and Property |
Extends to hotels, vessels, rented rooms, house boats | Defense of Home and Property |
"Castle Exception" | Defense of Home and Property |
Most states forbid deadly force in this defense | Defense of Property |
Few property items are vital to survival | Reason for forbidding deadly force |
Most items of value are insured | Reason for forbidding deadly force |
LE is usually readily available for assistance | Reason for forbidding deadly force |
Cannot set "booby traps" or "spring guns" in this defense | Defense of Property |
A defense that states that the individual who is the recipient of an injury or is claiming to be suffering an injury | Consent |
Appeal a higher power to determine guilt | Trial by Ordeal |
Hot iron, floating, boiling water tests.. | Trail by Ordeal |
Fleeing Felon Rule | Tennessee vs. Garner |
ONLY when a suspect is thought to represent a threat of injury/death to the officer or public (probable cause) | Tennessee vs. Garner |
Force is needed for arrest purposes | Tennessee vs. Garner |
Defense of duress, Intoxication, Mistake, Age, Entrapment, Syndrome, or Mental Incompetency/Insanity are type of.. | Excuses Defenses |
The complaint or charge are true and correct, however, there is a valid excuse that an individual had the right to engage in the conduct in question | Excuses Defense |
"Yes I did it -- but I had a good reason" | Excuses Defense |
Personal condition/circumstance is why the defendant is not liable | Excuses Defense |
Defendant must show that there was a reasonable fear of death that was immediate fear of future harm or death | Duress |
Unlawful threat of Coercion | Duress |
Acting unlawfully because of some outside force where you would otherwise not engage in those types of behaviors | Duress |
Must convince trier of fact that intoxication was involuntary - either tricked, forced, or unaware | Involuntary Intoxication |
Must show that the intoxication was so great as to remove ability to form specific intent | Involuntary Intoxication |
Misunderstanding/misinterpreting of the law` | Mistake Law |
Just because you didn't know the law isn't an excuse | Mistake Law |
That law needs to be made reasonably well known | Mistake Law |
Misunderstanding, misinterpreting, or forgetting of a fact that pertains to the situation | Mistake Fact |
If the facts had been presented the likelihood of something criminal would not have taken place | Mistake of Fact |
Not held criminally responsible due to the age of the defendant | Infancy Defense |
A person who has not yet reached the age of majority | Infancy Defense |
Children under the age of 7 are not criminally responsible | Excuse: Age |
Do not have the mental capacity to formulate intent | Excuse: Age |
This cannot be overcome by evidence to the contrary | Excuse: Age |
Rebut-table Presumption for children 7-14 years old | Excuse: Age |
This can be overcome with evidence | 7-14 years of age |
7 years old | Age of Reason |
Offense which is only illegal due to the age of the offender | Status Offenses |
Offenses committed by a juvenile which is also illegal for adults | Delinquent Offenses |
Transfer of a juvenile case to an adult court | Judicial Waiver |
A defense that is confirmed upon, or substantially enhanced by the acceptability of a syndrome | Excuse: Syndrome Based |
Signs and symptoms presenting a clinical picture of a disease or disorder | Syndrome |
Legally these syndromes are clinically views as diseases or disorders | Other Syndromes on the rise |
Prolonged beatings and abuses | Batter Women's Syndrome |
Included psychological abuse | Batter Women's Syndrome |
Evolves into a sense of "learned helplessness" | Battered Women's Syndrome |
Inability to leave, constant fear, instant submissiveness, imminent danger for children other family members | Battered Women's Syndrome |
This is a legal issue, and had no medical value | Insanity |
Developed in order to aid the court in dealing with certain individuals | Insanity |
Claims mental illness or diminished capacity | Insanity |
Not guilty at the time of the crime if the defendant didn't know what they were doing | M'Naughten Rule |
Not guilty at the time of the crime if the defendant didn't know that the behavior was wrong | M'Naughten Rule |
States a person isn't criminally/legally responsible for behaviors if actions were due to mental defect | Durham Rule |
Courts us array of psychiatric specialists to testify about mental state | Durham Rule |
Successful defense requires jury to see behavior is due to mental deficiencies | Durham Rule |
The Model Penal Code Insanity Test is also known as: | The Substantial Capacity Test |
This was developed by the American Law Institute | The Substantial Capacity Test |
Accuses is not responsible for actions if at the time of the act, as a result of a mental disease or defect, he lacks the substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of the act and to conform their conduct to the law | The Substantial Capacity Test |
The defendant is proven guilty of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt | Guilty but Mentally Ill |
The defendant was found to be mentally ill at the time of the offense | Guilty but Mentally Ill |
The defendant is found not legally insane at time of offense | Guilty but Mentally Ill |
Defense based on a claim that a mental condition may be insufficient to exonerate the defendant of guilt but that may be relevant to specific mental elements of crime | Diminished Capacity |
Specifically, that the defendant lacked the mental capacity to form mens rea needed for conviction | Diminished Capacity |
Places burden on the jury to determine if the defendant can be justly held responsible for their actions | Brawner's Rule |
The killing of one human being another human being | Murder |
An intentional homicide committed out of necessity is considered justifiable | English Common Law |
Justifiable, Excusable, or Sufficiently provoted | Does not qualify as murder |
Initially, the only punishment for murder was... | Death |
Became designated by different degrees in order to vary the punishments and avoid the death penalty in certain cases | Murder |
Murder is the killing of any person with ... | Malice Aforethought |
A felony, an unlawful killing, and intent are characteristics of... | Murder |
Intentional Homicide | Type of Murder |
Intent to do serious bodily injury where death results with no intent to kill | Type of Murder |
Depraved Heart Murder | Type of Murder |
Felony Murder | Type of Murder |
Now defined as the irreversible cessation of all brain function | Death |
Conviction may occur with a confession and corroborating evidence | Murder Conviction |
Can someone be charged with murder without a body | Yes |
Conviction can still occur with circumstantial evidnce | Murder Conviction |
The unlawful killing of a being without malice | Manslaughter |
"Less than Murder" | Manslaughter |
Two Categories: Voluntary and Involuntary | Manslaughter |
No malice or lawful justification | Voluntary Manslaughter |
Occurs due to negligence or recklessness | Involuntary Manslaughter |
Unintentional Killing | Involuntary Manslaughter |
Lacks malicious aforethought | Manslaughter |
Justifiable, excusable, carriers no criminal liability, and is permitted under the law | Perfect Self Defense |
Body of Crime | Corpus Delicti |
An attempt to commit Battery in which no actual physical battery or injury results | Assult |
The successful attempt to cause unlawful physical harm | Battery |
Must have this to have battery, but not vise versa | Assult |
Use of a weapon, infliction of serious injury, or disparity in size and age | Assault of Battery: High and Aggravated Nature |
Most of these cases require the intentional injury of a person | Assault of Battery: High and Aggravated Nature |
Disablement of normal functioning of the human body | Mayhem |
Malicious or willful permanent disfiguration | Mayhem |
Intentionally placing or attempting to place another person in fear or imminent serious physical danger | Menacing |